One of the country's largest fuel companies has revealed the extreme measures it's taking to protect staff and customers.
Z Energy's spent tens of millions of dollars on safety over the past five years.
But a spate of brazen robberies across the Auckland region has left one franchise owner questioning his future.
For petrol station owners and operators, the aftermath of ram-raids is the new normal.
"It's just devastating, it really is painful to watch," said Z franchise owner and operator Toleafoa Leatuao.
And Leatuao says as the violence ramps up, so do the stakes for his staff.
"A decade ago, maybe it was a rock, a hammer - but now these are blazon vehicles."
Employee training is now an exercise in personal safety.
"All the brick, all the food, any of those things can be replaced, but what we cannot replace is your one life when you're at work."
Over the past five years, Z Energy has invested $33 million into fog canons, safe rooms and personal alarms for its workers - but they say they can't solve the problem on their own.
"It requires collaboration working across both with other retailers and across government, with the police," said Z head of retail Tim Bailey.
Who have recently begun patrolling petrol station forecourts at night and carrying out welfare checks on staff.
Leatuao said without them, the future of retail is grim.
"With the high risk now of these burglaries and robberies, people start to ask if it's worth it at the end."
